The weather has been gorgeous today and, as I was in South Slope in Brooklyn, I decided to make the most of it by walking through Green-Wood Cemetery – a National Historic Landmark and the final resting place of many famous New Yorkers. The cemetery was built in 1838 and there is something so beautiful …
Read MoreCategory / Architecture
August 22, 2013
…read the time from the sidewalk
I spent my first year in New York looking down at the pavement – either trying to figure out where I was going or avoiding making eye contact with the letches. Now I spend half my time looking up, marvelling at New York’s beautiful buildings. But down in the financial district, they don’t have this …
Read MoreAugust 21, 2013
…explored a Masonic Lodge
I’ve had a pretty horrible sick day, so I wanted to do something close to home. Bizarrely, just a few blocks north of my apartment is the Grand Lodge of the Freemasons, which is open to the public for tours. It seemed like a perfect, quiet activity to try. The tour is ongoing throughout the …
Read MoreAugust 14, 2013
…rode Macy’s wooden escalators
Tonight I headed to Herald Square to visit Macy’s – not only my first time in this mammoth store, but also my first ever spin on its historic wooden escalators. Macy’s at 34th Street is the largest department store in the city, taking up an entire block and stretching across ten floors. In 1902, it also …
Read MoreAugust 7, 2013
…touched the Berlin Wall
New York is packed so tightly with art and history that sometimes it’s easy to overlook a real winner. Tonight I popped up to Midtown to see one of these giant gems: A section of the Berlin Wall. The fall of the Wall is actually one of my earliest memories. I was only three at …
Read MoreAugust 5, 2013
…visited New York’s narrowest house
On the way to dinner tonight, I took a mini detour to Greenwich Village for a peek at the city’s narrowest house – a house so small that it’s only half an address: 75 1/2 Bedford Street. At only 9.5 feet wide, the puny pad is very New York. When I went to Colorado earlier this …
Read MoreAugust 4, 2013
…went back in time on Long Island
Today Ryan and I drove an hour from the city to Centerport on Long Island, where he grew up. After passing gorgeous houses lining green streets and boats dotting the Long Island Sound, we reached the Vanderbilt Mansion. I’ve been to a mansion built by this obscenely wealthy American family (who owned most of the …
Read MoreAugust 1, 2013
…toured a tenement house
I’ve always said it’s a shame that German is the only foreign language I speak (badly, it needs to be noted) because every single person from Germany will speak better English than I do German. Well, it turns out that I’m just in the wrong part of the city – and in the wrong generation. …
Read MoreJuly 20, 2013
…saw Chicago from the water
When I’ve asked both Chicago natives and Chicago fans what’s the one thing I should do when I’m in the city, they’ve unanimously said the Architecture River Cruise. So today I took their advice. The open-topped boat tour leaves from the Magnificent Mile and, for 90 minutes, travels along the Y shape of the Chicago River. A …
Read MoreJuly 19, 2013
…saw Chicago from the sky
Today I popped to Chicago, where Bree is getting married tomorrow. After a delicious rehearsal dinner at Viand, I dodged the rain and skipped to the John Hancock Center to give the city a good look. I’ve only been to Chicago once before – for 4th July about five years ago – but I always include …
Read MoreJuly 15, 2013
…played mini golf beneath Freedom Tower
A couple of months ago I smacked some golf balls at the driving ranges at Chelsea Piers, and tonight I attempted to complete my game by perfecting my putt at Manhattan’s mini golf course. The greens, which are at Pier 25 in Tribeca, overlook the Hudson River and New Jersey as the One World Trade …
Read MoreJuly 8, 2013
…marvelled at a reading in Brooklyn Bridge Park
Tonight I hopped on the F train to Dumbo for a reading in Brooklyn Bridge Park. I expected to listen to some sedate paragraphs while lolling about in the grass but I got much, much more – a spectacular view of Manhattan, a masterclass in animation and that ‘I love New York’ warmth. The reading …
Read MoreJune 21, 2013
…trekked to graffiti Mecca
Tonight after work, I jumped on the E train and, to my surprise, was in Long Island City only 25 minutes later. It was my first trip out there and worth it to see one of New York’s hidden gems: 5 Pointz. 5 Pointz – a nod to the five boroughs – is known as ‘graffiti Mecca’ …
Read MoreJune 7, 2013
…visited New York’s tiniest library
Tropical Storm Andrea is visiting and she’s a pretty bad guest. So as I scuttled home tonight, narked by the downpour, I spotted one of the city’s small pop up libraries on Prince Street and nipped inside for some shelter. Now, when I say small, we’re talking mini. Inside this library – which is one …
Read MoreMay 26, 2013
…visited the Whitney Museum (and Edward Hopper’s house)
For many of these new things, I feel like I’m in a rush. But this morning when I woke up groggy from last night’s karaoke fest, I had a glorious realisation: For the first time in many months, I had nothing to do and nowhere to be. It meant that when I scooted up to the …
Read MoreMay 10, 2013
…saw the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere
Today One World Trade Center was fitted with its spire, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere at a ridiculous 1,776 feet – an allusion to the year the US signed the Declaration of Independence. I was looking through pictures at work this morning and felt inspired to go and have a peek myself. …
Read MoreApril 16, 2013
…had a Lower East Side history lesson
I love the Lower East Side. It’s shabby chic, so you’d think it hadn’t really been updated – apart from what’s in the shops – since its inception. But tonight I headed to the Tenement Museum on Orchard and Delancy to see author David Bellel talk about his new book, Then & Now: Lower East Side, and …
Read MoreApril 10, 2013
…saw buildings roll down Park Avenue (kind of)
Everyone knows the Manhattan skyline – even if, like me, they sometimes muddle the Chrysler and Empire State Building (true story). As a landscape that’s so recognizable, it’s ample ground for artists to meddle with. And tonight I went to Park Avenue between 48th and 68th to see Alexandre Arrechea’s take. Arrechea melds the buildings – such as the …
Read MoreMarch 21, 2013
…travelled back in time (to New York in 1993)
Tonight I went back in time – twenty years, to be exact – to see a New York of days gone by. The New Museum on the Bowery is currently showcasing art from 1993 – almost like a time capsule – that gives a brilliant insight into what was on the mind of New Yorkers …
Read MoreMarch 15, 2013
…looked over London from the top of The Shard
After going to the Empire State Building last week and overlooking Edinburgh from Arthur’s Seat this week, today I completed the hat-trick. I visited the top of the newly-opened Shard in London so I could look over my capital city. With a view like this, it makes one wonder how somebody could possibly not want …
Read MoreMarch 8, 2013
…went to the top of the Empire State Building
Tourist time. I’ve largely stayed away from the tourist hot spots until now, but I can’t get through this challenge without heading to the Empire State Building. And I’ve been to the top of the Rockefeller Center before, so I was interested to see how they compared. While the Rockefeller Center is a simple lift up …
Read MoreFebruary 28, 2013
…devised a Subway art tour
Whenever I’m using the subway, I’m in a rush. My head is always down – either to gawk at my phone or to avoid eye contact with the creeper in the corner. But when I looked up for a brief moment at 23rd Street last week, I realised that there were hats painted on the …
Read MoreFebruary 1, 2013
…went to see can-struction works
That ‘balloon animal’ is actually made of cans. Crabmeat cans to be precise. And it’s just one of 28 sculptures made out of non-perishables on display at the World Financial Center to encourage people to donate food as part of a massive food drive.
Read MoreJanuary 19, 2013
…escaped to Alcatraz
Perhaps it’s my job as a reporter. It could be my obsession with the Investigation Discovery channel. Or maybe it’s just sick human nature. Whatever the reason, when I planned my trip to the west coast, visiting Alcatraz was right at the top of the list. This morning, I caught the 9 a.m. ferry from …
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